The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2014, and October 31, 2015 (see FAQ for exceptions), are automatically nominated for the 2015 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on October 15, 2015, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

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I got there late, but was able to pack in a lot while I was in New York. It was a lovely re-affirmation of all the great things the romance community offers—camaraderie, generosity, and amazing writers who know their business and their craft and are willing to share tips and experiences.

Once upon a time, many years ago, I spent a summer in France. I was young, in college, sans boyfriend (though pining for a boy), and all alone in Paris, then Avignon.

Oh the stories I could tell about that summer in France! But unfortunately this space is about books and has a limited word count, so I won’t go into too much detail. However, I will say that the last week I was in Avignon, I met a boy—a ...

How about those American WOMEN soccer players? Tomorrow, these women will be given a rare ticker tape parade in Manhattan. Brava, ladies!

These WOMEN athletes also get to celebrate the fact that their Women’s World Cup championship game was the most watched soccer match in American TV history and, in winning, they became the first team ever to win three world championships. For their efforts and victory, they’ll receive $2 million. Maybe you heard that the German male World Cup ...

I think it’s safe to say that there are a lot of upcoming historical romances that are generating some excitement!

On August 4, Lauren Willig’s excellent Pink Carnation series will come to an end with the release of The Lure of the Moonflower. Lady Jane Wooliston, aka the Pink Carnation, will finally meet her match, and I’ll go out on a limb and guess that Eloise and Colin, the modern day couple that has dallied and parried through the series ...

I always have these grand plans in summer to try to catch up on my massive piles of books to be read. I somehow fall prey to the idea that summer will be lazy and easygoing, and I will have 26 hours a day to read books. {sigh}

One of my favorite up-and-coming authors, Suzanne Palmieri, has a new book out in a few days: The Witch of Bourbon Street. I had every intention of reading it last week in ...

I remember hearing that phrase early—I think I was in second grade the first time—but I never quite understood the true scope of its meaning until I started reading Regency romances.

I wrote a bit about the backstory and history of Waterloo for NPR today, with commentary and Regency recommendations from great historical authors Loretta Chase, Sabrina Jeffries and Katharine Ashe. (You can find that here.)

Just to be clear before I get too far in this, I’m not referring to any actual misses in terms of bad books—just books I was looking forward to that I missed. Don’t want to be misleading!

There are always so many great books coming out, and there’s only one of me, so I can’t get to them all. But there are some especially good titles coming out this month, including some that are the next chapter ...

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